Scallop hunters take to Sarasota Bay

Sunday

Aug 18, 2013 at 12:04 AM

From last October through January Sarasota Bay Watch deposited 24 million scallop larva into Sarasota Bay to increase the number of scallops in the area.

Rachel O'Hara

More than 30 boats and 165 volunteers took part in the 6th annual Sarasota Bay Watch Scallop Search Saturday morning off Longboat Key. The volunteers launched from the Mar Vista Restaurant around 9 a.m. and were sent to several locations, from north of Palma Sola Bay to Big Pass.

From last October through January Sarasota Bay Watch deposited 24 million scallop larva into Sarasota Bay to increase the number of scallops in the area.

Sarasota Bay Watch president Larry Stults said that while 24 million sounds like a lot, with red tide, heavy rainfall and other environmental factors, the likelihood that many of those larva survived into adulthood was slim.

Last year's search only netted 91 scallops.

This year's Scallopalooza raised $25,000, money that will be used toward the goal of depositing 50 million scallop larva in the bay beginning this October.

This year Sarasota Bay watch partnered with the Carefree Learner, MOTE and Fish and Wildlife Reasearch Institute and START (Solutions To Avoid Red Tide) for the annual scallop search.

For more information about the search — and to find out how this year's effort turned out — visit sarasotabaywatch.org.

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